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Struggling Santos designated for assignment

7/7/14: Sergio Santos gets Howie Kendrick to ground out to Jose Reyes at short for the final out of the inning, escaping a bases-loaded jam

By Gregor Chisholm
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MLB.com |

TORONTO -- Sergio Santos' season took yet another unfortunate turn on Wednesday afternoon when he was designated for assignment for the second time this year.

Santos was once considered the closer of the future in Toronto, but he has since fallen on tough times. Santos struggled through two injury-plagued seasons before seeing his performance on the mound fall apart amidst sporadic use.

The hard throwing righty is now eligible to be claimed by any other team, but if he clears waivers, there's still a chance Santos would remain in the organization.

"He threw some strikes, but they weren't good strikes," manager John Gibbons said. "At the start of the season, he was pretty good for us. Last September, he was really good. But other than that, he's had a tough go. Relievers have tough lives. We needed a guy and he has been scuffling."

Even if Santos clears waivers, he's likely thrown his last pitch for the Blue Jays. There's a $6 million club option on his contract for next season that is all but guaranteed of being bought out at the end of the year for $750,000.

Right-hander Chad Jenkins was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Santos' spot on the 25-man roster. Jenkins has worked exclusively as a reliever for Toronto this year and has a 2.56 ERA in 21 appearances.

Santos, 31, is 7-12 with a 3.89 ERA in the Major Leagues. The right-hander posted 30 saves in 2011 with the White Sox and was acquired by the Blue Jays in a trade for Nestor Molina the following offseason. Santos has pitched in just 61 games for Toronto over three seasons.